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Kia’s all-new 2022 Niro is available in three distinct powertrain options. The manufacturer says these are “designed to meet the demands of every lifestyle.” But owners are finding that the plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the standard EV, and the hybrid electric (HEV) all have widespread problems. Owners are complaining about a malfunctioning powertrain, visibility issues, failing forward collision avoidance technology, and excessively loud alerts they label a safety hazard.
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2022 Kia Niro
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Power Train | |
| Visibility/wiper | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Air Bags | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Seat Belts |
Most Common Problems with the 2022 Kia Niro
A total of 20 complaints were lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) between September 28, 2021, and September 6, 2022. These are listed under the 2022 Kia Niro and the 2022 Kia Niro Electric. While several name the EV or PHEV, it isn’t always clear which of the electrified powertrain options the complaints relate to. There aren’t any complaints registered under the PHEV SUV or the Hybrid, but that’s probably due to owners failing to specify their vehicles.
In a launch press release, Kia describes the powertrain options. They are the “no-compromise hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all-electric powertrains” all of which “make transitioning to electrified mobility easy.” Ironically, one of the most common problems 2022 Kia Niro owners are reporting to the NHTSA is faulty powertrains. Another major issue relates to forward collision avoidance failures and “unintended acceleration,” with three crashes reported.
Visibility problems include windshield cracks. Additionally, several complaints cite a bad glare caused by reflective chrome on the center console or dashboard being an accident risk.
There are also complaints about various alarms being excessively loud and causing a safety risk. Other complaints include brake failure and airbags failing to deploy.
The Michigan owner of a 2022 Kia Niro Electric describes how the vehicle simply “quit” without warning. The EV was at 50% with 130 miles to go. While driving at 70 mph “all the lights started going on and off and I lost power.” He was unable to restart or get the car into gear for the hauler.
Problems with the Powertrain
How a vehicle shifts and handles itself is due in part to the powertrain. While most new vehicles shift smoothly and run as intended, Niro owners are complaining that the powertrain of their 2022 Kia Niros malfunction.
An Ohio resident with a short-term rental describes how the Niro rolled backward down a “moderate slope” while in Park. He states that the only solution seems to be to manually set the parking brake.
An owner from Illinois also reports problems with the Niro rolling backward and forward when the car is shifted into Park. Describing what he says is a “potential vehicle hazard,” he says it “doesn’t happen all the time” but “it happens a lot.
My wife is the primary driver and I have only driven the car about 10 times. It has happened to just me twice in that time frame. It’s such a common problem that we have started trying to routinely activate the emergency brake, as the transmission is not reliable in shifting the vehicle into Park. During one incident, my wife forgot to use the emergency brake after shifting the car into Park. She got out, the vehicle began rolling in Park, and her leg almost got run over in an attempt to stop the vehicle.”
Forward Collision Avoidance Issues
Three of the complaints that describe forward collision avoidance issues report crashes.
An owner from California was driving “extremely slowly” while pulling into a parking spot. “I applied my brakes but the car experienced unintended acceleration. The vehicle felt like it went into another gear, and it jumped the curb on its own, ran over some shrubbery, and crashed into the porch of a condominium which stopped the car. The airbags did not deploy as I was only going approximately 3 m.p.h. The sensors that should have prevented me from jumping the curb, running over shrubbery, and crashing into a building, failed. Kia Consumer Affairs performed a forensic inspection and found nothing, yet I am positive that this vehicle is unsafe to drive. There were no warnings prior to the incident. I could have been killed or hurt or killed others.”
Another owner from California drove over a curb in a parking lot to avoid another vehicle. She was driving at about 5 mph. “The vehicle accelerated to approximately 40 mph in a straight line and then crashed into four parked vehicles in a chain reaction, crashing into the rear end of the first parked vehicle.”
The car had “a crushed grill, hood, and fenders, all the way to the windshield.” The driver suffered a fracture to her C2 vertebrae on her neck, a fracture to her right foot, (and) a small laceration to her left knee. She was transported to ER by ambulance. The passenger “suffered bruises to her chest and shoulders from the seat belt.”
The complaint states “that the vehicle was equipped with front collision avoidance technology which had apparently failed to stop the vehicle.”
Visibility Problems
A problem with so many vehicles, an owner from Ohio reports a windshield crack that appeared without any form of impact. Over a 4-day period, it grew from 3 inches to more than 15 inches in length. Infuriatingly, the complaint states, they have called dealerships 15 times about the issue to get an inspection date. But nobody calls because. “We plan to just show up and demand it be inspected, without (an) appointment. The concern is that the crack continues to grow, and we are worried if there is a collision that it would cause our safety to be in jeopardy. According to the dealership, this issue has not been seen elsewhere, although several different models in different years have reportedly had a TSB put out for this issue (according to customer service at Corporate Kia on the first day of the issue).
All other visibility-related complaints describe how chrome on the dash or center console reflects the sun “and blinds the driver.” An owner from Colorado identifies the problem as the “dash chrome trim running across the dashboard.”
An owner from Washington agrees, stating that this is “a design flaw.” This complaint states, “The risk is that it impedes the driver’s vision and the ability to use the mirrors and sometimes to read the display. Impeding the driver’s vision can result in a crash.”
An owner from Michigan blames the “silver accent bar on the center console below the air vents” which “creates a major glare when the sunlight hits it. It reduces visibility by causing a distraction and feels as if you’re staring into the sun.” Additionally, the complaint states, “when the sunlight hits the screens on the dashboard and center console they become unreadable.”
Excessively Loud Alerts
Backup alerts are usually designed as a safety feature. But 2022 Niro owners are complaining that they can be a safety hazard.
An owner from New York describes how the low-speed warning alert is dangerous to pedestrians. This is because the speaker that emits the “beeping” warning is mounted on the front bumper.
“Several times, as I was backing out of a parking spot pedestrians have stopped directly behind the moving vehicle and could have been hit.” Additionally, the complaint states that “the tone that the car emits is also inconsistent with the usual and expected 1000 Hz tone that most people associate with backup beepers, causing further confusion to pedestrians. As implemented, the backup alert system on this vehicle does more harm than good and has the potential to cause a pedestrian accident because of the confusing, non-standard, and non-directionality of the sound.”
An owner from Michigan calls the backup alert that deploys when the car is shifted into reverse gear, “excessively loud and obnoxious.” This, the complaint states, is “a safety hazard.” It deploys whether the vehicle is moving or not. “The dealer tells me this is a ‘safety’ feature and that therefore the alert cannot be disconnected and the volume cannot be adjusted. My complaint is that this feature is not only not necessary, especially for a PHEV, but also in fact is itself. It is so loud and distracting it prevents the driver and those around the car from paying full attention to other circumstances.”
And then there’s the external backup horn. An owner from New Mexico states that it “is so loud you cannot hear the collision alert alarm if the driver window is down.”
Your Lemon Law Legal Rights
Do you think you have a lemon? If you do, you can sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Kia pay the legal fees of lemon law cases. As a result, every year, auto manufacturers are forced to buy back, replace, or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners.
So, if your 2022 Kia Niro problems cause you to think you might have bought a lemon, feel free (literally) to contact Lemberg Law on our Helpline. Alternatively, you can fill in a contact form and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
Complaint Data
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control |
| Date | Sep 06, 2022 |
| State | WA |
| Description | When driving with acc engaged in traffic at a speed below the target speed the vehicle will sometimes speed up. This seems to happen when the acc radar loses the return from the vehicle ahead -- for example when when a ahead vehicle changes lanes in stop-and-go traffic, I think this may happen if the side of the vehicle merging into the lane is relatively "clean" and most of the radar energy is reflected away. When this happens the car will start accelerating to the target speed, in rush hour traffic the spacing between vehicles can be quite tight and there is little time to respond to the sudden acceleration. This has also happened at an approach to a roundabout where there is a sharp turn before entering the roundabout. The vehicle is available for inspection. The problem has happened several times and I'm often able to predict when it will happen, but it has not been independently reproduced. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer (the problem was reported to the dealer who sold the car, they brushed it off and could not provide a means of reporting it to the manufacturer). There were no warnings or indication of an equipment failure. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Sep 06, 2022 |
| State | WA |
| Description | The car has chrome trim on the dashboard that can cause blinding reflections and which also reflects in the side windows making it hard to see the side mirrors. This is a design flaw (not strictly a failure or malfunction) and the vehicle is available for inspection. The risk is that it impedes the driver's vision and the ability to use the mirrors and sometimes to read the display. Impeding the driver's vision can result in a crash. This problem has been reported by many owners on various forums, but I have not had it corroborated. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Aug 24, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The contact owned a 2022 kia niro. The contact stated that while his wife was driving in a parking lot at approximately 5 mph, she drove over a curb to avoid a vehicle that was reversing. The vehicle crashed into the roadway aggressively after coming down from the curb and the contact's wife inadvertently depressed the accelerator pedal. The vehicle accelerated to approximately 40 mph in a straight line and then crashed into four parked vehicles in a chain reaction, crashing into the rear end of the first parked vehicle. The contact stated that his wife was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle came to a stop on its own due to the crash's impact. The damage to the contact's vehicle was a crushed grill, hood, and fenders, all the way to the windshield. The contact's wife suffered a fracture to her c2 vertebrae on her neck, a fracture to her right foot, a small laceration to her left knee. The contact suffered bruises to her chest and shoulders from the seat belt. The contact's wife was transported to the er by ambulance. The driver's side front air and side air bags had been deployed. The contact stated that the police were on the scene and filed a report. The contact said that the vehicle had been towed to an impound lot. The vehicle had not been diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. The contact stated that the insurance provider requested that the vehicle be released to them. The contact stated that the vehicle was equipped with front collision avoidance technology which had apparently failed to stop the vehicle. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,500. |
| Category | Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Jul 26, 2022 |
| State | CO |
| Description | The dash chrome trim running across the dashboard reflects the sun and blinds the driver. It is so reflective it makes driving almost impossible. This needs to be addressed by kia as it blinds the driver bad enough that it's only a matter of time till this will cause an accident that will cause harm or death of the cars occupants. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jul 20, 2022 |
| State | MI |
| Description | The car is equipped with an excessively loud and obnoxious backup alert that deploys whenever the car is shifted into reverse gear, whether or not the vehicle is moving. The dealer tells me this is a "safety" feature and that therefore the alert cannot be disconnected and the volume cannot be adjusted. My complaint is that this feature is not only not necessary, especially for a phev, but also in fact is itself a safety hazard. It is so loud and distracting it prevents the driver and those around the car from paying full attention to other circumstances. Is nhtsa requiring this or is this kia's invention? I don't hear it from other evs, let alone phevs. |
| Category | Power Train |
| Date | Jul 08, 2022 |
| State | MI |
| Description | On four separate occasion I shifted it the car into park and a car computer did not register it in the correct mode. Video of lst event upload to google photos https://photos. App. Goo. Gl/ty4ayfnuif9ex6oe6 |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jun 16, 2022 |
| State | MI |
| Description | Ev was at 50%/130 miles to go, was driving on the expressway at 70 mph and it just quit. No warning, just all the lights started going on and off and I lost power and was able to coast to the side of the expressway. Was unable to restart, or get into gear for the hauler. Vehicle was hauled to dealership and is still there. The car has 1,100 miles on it. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jun 10, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | This vehicle was involved in an accident caused by unintended acceleration. The vehicle is not available for inspection as we sold it back to the dealer. I was going very slow with my foot on the brake when the car jumped a curb where I was trying to park, then ran over some shrubbery, and then crashed into a condominium. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jun 02, 2022 |
| State | MI |
| Description | The silver accent bar on the center console below the air vents creates a major glare when the sunlight hits it. It reduces visibility by causing a distraction and feels as if you're staring into the sun. The photo doesn't do it justice but this has happened multiple times and I have to hold up my arm to block the glare. Additionally when the sunlight hits the screens on the dashboard and center console they become unreadable. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | May 20, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | I was driving extremely slowly pulling into a parking spot. I applied my brakes but the car experienced unintended acceleration. The vehicle felt like it went into another gear, and it jumped the curb on its own, ran over some shrubbery, and crashed into the porch of a condominium which stopped the car. The air bags did not deploy as I was only going approximately 3 m. P. H. The sensors that should have prevented me from jumping the curb, running over shrubbery, and crashing into a building failed. Kia consumer affairs performed a forensic inspection and found nothing, yet I am positive that this vehicle is unsafe to drive. There were no warnings prior to the incident. I could have been killed or hurt or killed others. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | May 13, 2022 |
| State | NM |
| Description | We discovered the passenger airbag "off" indicator was illuminated during while driving. My wife needs an orthotic cushion in the seat for anything other than a 10 minute trip. When the orthopedic cushion is placed in the seat the air bag does not activate. I went to the dealership and we tested a my and another 2022 niro, a 2022 sportage and a telluride. The air bag in the telluride was the only one that activated. The owners guidance was to contact kia consumer assistance. A call to kia consumer assistance (800-333-4542) options 2,5 & 2 yeilded a 30 minute wait with no indication of the remaining wait time and jazz music. Additionally, the external backup horn is so loud you cannot hear the collision alert alarm if the driver window is down. |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Apr 27, 2022 |
| State | PA |
| Description | Just over 2 weeks after purchase of new kia niro the brakes failed completely. The regenerative brake light appeared in red along with the abs light and several others. I was driving in a major highway and had no pressure in the brake pedal, leaving me completely unable to brake. I dropped the car to “manual†second gear†and rode (very fortunately on a straightaway) until I was able to apply the emergency brake. The niro was towed to the dealership who has had the vehicle ever since. They are uncertain of the cause, have opened a tech case with kia, and reportedly order parts. I have initiated a buyback with kia as I am not willing to out my family's life at risk. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | Mar 17, 2022 |
| State | NE |
| Description | When installing a car seat in the center position of the back seat using the seat belt, we found that the latch for the lower seat belt came undone. (it is the latch for the fixed corner of the lap belt. This is the black latch with the small slot to release the belt that is to remain hooked except to fold the rear seat flat rather than the latch with the red button.) we unbuckled the other side of the seat belt, removed the car seat, and found that the latch itself was defective. When the buckle is placed into the latch it can be pulled free with little effort. Upon further inspection, we found that if you place the buckle into the latch, wiggle it from side to side, and then pull it will remain latched. However, if you push the buckle down into the latch again it will release and can be pulled free without using the slot to release it. We took our vehicle to our local dealership, and they determined that the latch was indeed defective and a new latch was ordered to replace it. The part is not yet in, so it is not fixed yet. We will ask the dealership to track where the part is once replaced if it needs to be inspected. If we had not noticed that the latch was defective, we would have installed a car seat in that position with the possibility of the latch coming loose during an accident. There was no known warning signals that alerted us to this problem other than our own inspection of the problem. We have a video recording available that shows the problem much better than the pictures, but the form will not allow us to upload it here. Feel free to reach out to us to get a copy of it. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other, Visibility/wiper |
| Date | Mar 10, 2022 |
| State | OH |
| Description | I have tried to contact several dealerships to have it inspected, but they have as of yet (4 days later) not contacted me to get anything set up. We have collectively called 15 times, and they continue to tell us that a "service advisor" will call us back. Because of this, it has not been inspected yet, though we have tried. We plan to just show up and demand it be inspected, without appointment. The concern is that the crack continues to grow, and we are worried if there is a collision that it would cause our safety to be in jeopardy. According to the dealership, this issue has not been seen elsewhere, although several different models in different years have reportedly had a tsb put out for this issue (according to customer service at corporate kia on the first day of the issue). There were no other issues indicating that this would happen prior to my seeing the crack. Two weeks after the purchase of the vehicle, the windshield developed a crack coming from the drive side corner. When it was first noticed, it was only 3 inches long. It wasn't noticed at first because it began below the black portion of the windshield near the base. It wasn't until it extended up into the visible portion that I noticed it. But it has continued to grow over time just sitting in garage. Four days later, it is 15+ inches long. There was no collision to cause it (no rock, bug, hail, etc). A small chip has also begun to form at an area where the crack took a turn, I suspect because that's a focal point for the pressure. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Feb 23, 2022 |
| State | OR |
| Description | Vehicle is equipped with a back up alarm that exceeds 75 decibels and is measured at 90 decibels inside of garage. This poses a public safety risk and violation of local noise ordinances |
| Category | Power Train, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Feb 10, 2022 |
| State | OH |
| Description | After putting the car in park on a moderate slope, I exited the car and about 2 seconds later, as I was connecting the charger, the car rolled backward 4 feet before coming to a stop. I immediately confirmed that the car was in park. The parking brake was *not* on. (or at least, I did not manually set it- I don't know if this car activates the brake automatically when in park.) the right front wheel was on ice. All other wheels on bare gravel. The temperature was 36 deg f. This is an ev, so it may have some sort of event recorder built in. If so, look at roughly 9:10 est on 2/10/22. This is a short-term rental from enterprise, so I'll set the parking brake manually for the remainder of the rental and report it to them on return. Contact them if you want to inspect it. The registration lists the owner as "ean holdings llc" |
| Category | Power Train |
| Date | Feb 04, 2022 |
| State | IL |
| Description | When the kia is shifted into "park", it will sometimes roll forward or backwards until the brakes are applied by the driver. This doesn't happen all the time and we have not figured out a way to predictably reproduce the results, but it happens a lot. My wife is the primary driver and I have only driven the car about 10 times. It has happened to just me twice in that time frame. It's such a common problem that we have started trying to routinely activate the emergency brake, as the transmission is not reliable in shifting the vehicle into park. During one incident, my wife forgot to use the emergency brake after shifting the car into park. She got out, the vehicle began rolling in park and her leg almost got ran over in an attempt to stop the vehicle. We have taken the car to mike miller kia in peoria, il, but they were unable to reproduce the results, so did not take action to fix the vehicle. We have also reached out to kia on this issue and are awaiting a response. A quick google search indicated that kia is not exactly reliable safety-related issues, so I wanted to be proactive in exposing this potential vehicle hazard. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Sep 28, 2021 |
| State | NY |
| Description | This complaint is about a vehicle design and implementation issue rather than a malfunction. The implementation of the low speed warning alert for this vehicle is dangerous to pedestrians. Several times, as I was backing out of a parking spot pedestrians have stopped directly behind the moving vehicle and could have been hit. When put into reverse this vehicle emits beeping tone from a speaker mounted in the front bumper of the vehicle. Because the backup alert tone is emitted from the front bumper of the vehicle, the sound is reflected off other cars and structures and is perceived as completely non-directional to anyone standing behind the car. When people hear the beeping, they tend to stop and look around for the source of the sound, which is some cases seems to be coming from 1 or 2 aisles over in the parking lot, or from another direction altogether. The tone that the car emits is also inconsistent with the usual and expected 1000hz tone that most people associate with backup beepers, causing further confusion to pedestrians. As implemented, the backup alert system on this vehicle does more harm than good and has the potential to cause a pedestrian accident because of the confusing, non standard and non-directionality of the sound. A blind or vision impaired person would have a very hard time discerning the direction that the sound is coming from and could get hit by this vehicle as it is backing up. To be effective, the backup beeper should be mounted in the rear of the car and emit the standard tone that people generally associate with backup alarms. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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